Page 19 of Breaker

He replies, "Nah man, he's good, Sarah, though…." He shakes his head. "She's a hard ass, that one. How Snake hasn't lost his balls yet, I'll never know."

I snort, shaking my head as my momma, whose eyes never leave me despite my trying to ignore her, steps forward.

"Are you, uh, on a date, sweetheart?"

I go to open my mouth to say, well, I honestly don't know what I'm going to say. Maybe I should divert the conversation. Before I can say anything Noah chimes in again like the charming devil he is.

"Yep, with me and Daddy this time. They already had five whole dates without me, and that is not okay. She's my teacher, and I wanted Daddy with her, so I got in trouble, so Daddy came to school. Daddy calls me Cupid."

Momma smiles at him but hurt shines in her eyes. I ignore it and raise a brow at Alex, who just shrugs, not at all denying it.

Dad clears his throat, and I look his way as he wraps his arm around Momma's waist. I look away as he speaks, "Why don't we all go grab a bigger table and catch up?"

Oh, how I want to scream out a “no” like a child, but instead, I clear my throat and say, "We're nearly finished, so there's no point disrupting Noah."

I look at the little boy and smile as he shoves his last fry in his mouth, before pouting when he notices he has none left. Shaking my head, I grab the rest of mine and place them on his plate, making him grin.

"Thank you, Quinny," he says happily, before shoving them in his mouth. This makes me smile as Alex twirls my hair in his finger.

Momma lets out a sniffle, bringing my attention back to them, and I make eye contact with Jack, who looks angry, but I shake my head at him. He's the one who stopped by my table, not the other way round. This has nothing to do with them or him.

Alex clears his throat. "Noah's finished now, anyway, and I promised to drop him off at my momma's. Maybe next time?"

My dad nods, keeping his eyes on me while Momma looks ready to burst into tears. I hate that I've upset her, but each time I've seen her, she does this, like she's trying to guilt-trip me. Just because she forgave Dad doesn't mean I need to. I went through a lot because of him.

I can't forgive. I won't.

I send Alex a grateful smile because he's read me like a book. He's noticed my stiffened posture, which is why he's been playing with my hair, and he can see I don't want anything to do with them.

He's making it hard for me not to say “screw it” and give a relationship a go, to take us out of the “just dating” zone.

Crap balls….

Dad nods and states, "Definitely next time. I'd love to get to know the man who's captured my daughter's heart."

My jaw ticks at his words because his daughter's heart is stone cold like ice because of him, but I ignore them all as I pack up Noah's coloring stuff. They say bye, but again, I ignore them and guide Noah, holding my hand tightly, to his dad's truck while Alex says bye to Jack.

7

Breaker

I watch Quinn take Noah to my truck, while I stand with her family. A family that seemed to completely throw her off. Honestly, I thought she wanted the floor to swallow her whole when her dad invited us to join them. After a month of dating—and only dating, because the woman refuses to let me put a label on us—I've come to know her body cues. As soon as her brother spoke, she tensed. She barely acknowledged her family unless she had to, keeping her eyes on Noah.

She told me she had issues but has yet to tell me what they are. Jack never mentioned his sister, only that he had one who was a teacher and that she was younger than him. I never realized her issues were family-related.

I clear my throat and look back at the Sanders'.

"I'll see you at the garage, Jack," I say to Quinn's brother, who will be servicing my bike tomorrow. I look at her parents; her momma looks ready to cry, confusing me, making me wonder what happened that their daughter won’t acknowledge them the way a daughter should. I clear my throat again and say, "It was nice meeting you."

Quinn's dad nods, his eyes going to my truck.

Her momma steps forward and asks, "How long have you and Quinn been seeing each other?" I raise a brow, and she smiles, or tries to, her dark blue eyes, just like my girl’s, looking sad as she says, "It's just…you’re here with your child."

I nod and admit, "We've been dating for about a month. Noah is the one who got us together, as he said. I'm trying to make her give us a real shot."

She swallows but nods, looking at my truck.

Her husband rasps, "Don't give up on her. She'll try and push you back, but you need to push forward."

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